Bronx Bomber Ball

In a bullpen battle that will feature an open competition to fill a few spots, young righty Johnny Barbato should be in that mix. Barbato made the opening day roster in 2016 after pitching to a very impressive 1.64 ERA in 11 appearances last spring. However, Barbato faced struggles getting big league hitters out resulting in him spending the majority of 2016 in Triple-A. With several pitchers vying for one or two spots in the bullpen, Barbato could put himself in that mix with another strong spring.   Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez | AP

With the season winding down and the Yankees playoff hope slimming by the day, some 40-man roster spot decisions will have to be made in the near future. While some roster spots will open up because of impending free agents and retirements (Mark Teixeira, Billy Butler, etc.), some roster spots will be needed to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft (Tyler Webb, Kyle Hishioga, etc.). Because of these moves some roster spots may be up in the air this offseason, let’s take a look at some players whose 40-man roster spots may be in limbo. Photo Credit: Kim Klement

Photo Credit: Seth Wenig | AP A long time ago (today, actually) , in a galaxy far, far away (fine, in the Bronx)...the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 13-7 on the night of their first-ever “Star Wars Night” promotion behind a decent outing by Michael Pineda and an offensive outburst by the Yankee lineup.

After last night’s disappointing 4-2 loss to the Red Sox, where David Ortiz drilled a tie-breaking 2-run home run off of Dellin Betances in the 8th, the Yankees will send Michael Pineda (1-2, 6.95 ERA) to face off against Boston’s Rick Porcello (4-0, 3.51 ERA). Pineda has struggled heavily all season, as his high ERA has shown. Meanwhile, Porcello hasn’t lost an outing this season. The Yankees have been struggling on offense, ranking 29th in runs and they have only score 12 runs in their last six games. Meanwhile, their crosstown rivals in Queens, scored 12 runs in one inning alone last night. Chase Headley, arguably the biggest liability on offense, has not had an extra base hit and has the lowest batting average (.140) out of all qualified batters in the majors. Pineda must right the ship and the Yankees will need to restart its offense again in order to win tonight. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Michael Dwyer

After the Yankees won on Monday 3-1, thanks to Nathan Eovaldi’s dominant seven-inning outing, the Rangers retaliated last night with a 10-1 obliteration of the Yankees. Luis Severino struggled again, and this was his third out four starts where he’s run into trouble early and often. In this rubber game of a three-game series, the Rangers sent Martin Perez, while the Yankees sent CC Sabathia. Sabathia has been consistent, though not particularly dominant in any outing. Even if the Yankees can’t sweep three-game series, continuing to win every series is a step in the right direction, and a win tonight will be a big positive as they travel to Boston after tonight’s game. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Tony Gutierrez

While the Yankees bullpen has been lockdown so far this season, not all of its success can be attributed to the likes of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. Obviously, the Bombers have a nearly unhittable backend with Betances and Miller, plus the suspended Aroldis Chapman, but going into the season, there were a lot of questions for the pen.  Picture Credit: Getty Images/Tom Szczerbowski

After getting swept by the Oakland Athletics, the Yankees (5-9) begin a 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (7-8) in the Bronx. The Rays are coming off two straight series wins, against the Chicago White Sox at home and the Red Sox in Boston. Last night, they used 4 runs combined in the 8th and 9th to come from behind and defeat the David Price-led Red Sox. Meanwhile, the Yankees continue to struggle, having scored only 17 runs in their last eight games combined, and the starting pitching has not seen a dominant start recently. Last night, the bullpen, which had been the highlight of the season so far, took a beating, as middle relievers Chasen Shreve and Johnny Barbato, served up three home runs combined and four total runs, and that was the difference in a 7-3 loss. Last season, the Yankees went 12-7 against Tampa Bay. Picture Credit: USA Today Sports

The Yankees came off a 4-3 win on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners to avoid a 3-game sweep over the weekend. Masahiro Tanaka went seven innings, the first time a Yankee pitcher has done so this season, and Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller struck out all six batters that they combined to face to close out the game. Alex Rodriguez finally ended his slump and drilled a 2-run home run to left in the first inning off of Hisashi Iwakuma. Tonight, the Yankees start a 3-game series against the Oakland Athletics, their second straight AL West opponent. The Yankees will send Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, and Luis Severino out to the mound to face the Oakland A’s to try and gain a few games back on their AL East counterparts. The Yankees must hit with RISP if they wish to build a winning streak. Photo Credit: Associated Press/Bill Kostroun

It’s been a strange season for Yankees baseball. Although the Yankees are currently 5-6, only 3 games back in the American League East, and they’ve only played 6.79% (11 out of 162 games) of the season, Yankee fans everywhere have been calling for change. I’m a big statistics person, and most pieces I write (not including game recaps) are usually driven by numbers. With that in mind, I dove deep into the world of Yankees statistics so far this year, and here are ten hat will definitely surprise you. Please note that these statistics are accurate as of April 17, 2016. Photo Credit: Ariball.com

I n the Yankees' (3-2) AL East opener this year, Masahiro Tanaka took the mound for his second start after looking decent against the Astros to open up the season. He faced off against Aaron Sanchez of the Blue Jays (3-4).

By: Chad Raines Growing up as a huge Boston Red Sox fan, with Roger Clemens as his idol, 22 year old Johnny Barbato may not have foreseen the day where he would be traded to the New York Yankees. However, the former sixth round pick out of high school in 2010 is looking forward to being a member of the storied franchise.